Pompeo Announces He’s Not Running for Senate in Kansas

The secretary of state said he has “ruled out” a run for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Roberts.

By NTK Staff | 02.21.2019 @10:30am

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he has “ruled out” a 2020 Senate campaign in his home state of Kansas in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday.

For weeks, Republicans speculated about the former congressman stepping down from his post at the State Department to run for Senate. This came despite Pompeo’s remarks that he was committed to his job in the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly reached out to Pompeo to ask him to consider running. Despite all the encouragement he received, Pompeo ultimately decided to stay put.

But in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday, the secretary of state threw cold water on the prospect, telling anchor Craig Melvin that “it’s ruled out.”

“I love Kansas. I’m going to be the secretary of state as long as President Trump gives me the opportunity to serve as America’s senior diplomat,” Pompeo said. “I love doing what I’m doing and I have 75,000 great warriors out and around the world trying to deliver for the American people.”

Pompeo’s absence will leave an opening for other Republicans to step up and run. Roberts, who is 82 years-old and is currently serving his fourth term, announced he would not seek reelection last month. Roberts’ closest reelection margin came in 2014 when he faced Republican-turned-Democrat Greg Orman, who ran as an independent.